Unexpected Attack

When we got to the patio, we had to wait for everyone to arrive. Syvis was the last to come, not giving me the opportunity to go talk to her since Harold started as soon as she appeared. Unfortunately, as soon as Syvis showed herself, the whispers between the groups started. They still hold Syvis responsible for what happened to Darren.

Harold adjusted his glasses and stepped forward, and began, "Silence. The third week will begin, and you will be in the care of the mentor with whom you haven't yet been with. In the last week, you will be able to choose with whom to spend your last week at the castle so take advantage of the time you have left."

Dante waved his hand, saying goodbye to our group. On the other hand, Syvis kept her gaze in front the entire time without turning once. Another thing that I found strange is that Gerald and Caroline were separated from the rest of their group. Had something happened between them?

This week we will be under the care of Kiara, who comes closer at the end of what Harold had to say.

“Alright, people. We’ll be heading to the training grounds, so follow me." Kiara says, then started walking and we followed behind her.

Kiara's outfit is quite peculiar. All of her clothes are black, and it is difficult to see her face because of the hood she is wearing as it covers much of her face. Upon reaching the training grounds, Kiara stopped in front of us and began a brief introduction.

“The reason you are here is because you have already done well, and I want to help you maximize your potential.”

Kiara’s voice is soft and calm.

"Dark Dragons reputation is high, and we have quite high standards, so at the end of the week, everyone may receive an invitation or may receive no invitations at all. It depends on how you succeed in proving yourselves. Is that clear?”

Everybody simply nodded.

“Good. Let’s introduce ourselves then.” Kiara says. “I’ll go first.”

“My name is Kiara. I became an adventurer shortly after my 18th birthday. I am now 24 years old and have been mentoring new adventurers for two years. I am a B-Rank mage. I have a rare skill which allows me to manipulate shadows, and when I cast spells, I mostly prefer to employ Dark magic.”

Shadows and dark magic. Maybe that is why she likes to dress in black. She is like a dark sorceress. Each of us introduced ourselves to her, and after a while, she already knew us more or less.

"So, now that introductions are over, it is time to start the real lessons." Kiara says.

To start the training, Kiara wants us to have a little sparring against her to know us better. We can even use our skills if we want. After asking who would begin, Leona offered to be the first. They both entered the training ground while we watched. Unlike the other two mentors, Kiara is of a lower rank than Leona. I wonder how the fight will unfold.

Leona holds her shield up and sword ready. Kiara takes a stance similar to Ryul’s, like she’s about to fight Leona with her fists. I thought Kiara used magic? When Shalia gives the start signal, Leona rushes forward while keeping her shield up. Kiara brings her right arm low, and her hand grabs at something. All of a sudden, Leona falls to the ground. Then I see a shadowy hand coming up from the ground to grab Leona’s heel.

What is that? Is that what Kiara meant by manipulating shadows? Amazing!

“You can use light magic, don't you!? Shadow is weak against light!” Kiara shouts at Leona. “Now get yourself free!”

Leona quickly casts a ball of light at the shadowy hand and gets back up. By then, Kiara has already snuck up behind Leona and created a new shadow construct. A sword. Leona barely has a chance to block it with her shield. Then Kiara changes the sword to an armor that covers both her arms and her shoulders. She then grabs both Leona’s sword and shield, pulls them aside and leaves Leona’s center wide open. Then Kiara kicks the catgirl on her chest plate and sends her to the ground.

So Kiara can transform shadows in such away. If I didn't see it for myself, I wouldn't believe it.

Leona recovers quickly though, and gets back up. Even though Kiara has taken her sword and shield from her, she still has her fists and closes it, ready to punch Kiara. That is when Kiara cancels her shadow constructs, holds her right hand towards Leona and suddenly, a bright white flash appears.

Those of us at the sides have to shield our eyes, but we can at least still see since it was not directed at us. Leona, instead, is covering her eyes with her hands while screaming in pain.

“Fuck! What was that! I thought you were a dark sorceress! Where the hell did that light magic come from!?” Leona curses.

"B-Rank mages possess two magic elements!" Kiara reply, "You should know that.”

“You never said you had light magic.” Leona complains.

“You will find many adventurers hide some of their magic, spells, or even their skills. Especially during the annual tournament, everyone gets very secretive about all that.” Kiara explains. “As long as you can keep some of your abilities a secret, you can surprise your opponent and claim victory.”

With the match over, Kiara grabs hold of Leona and leads her to a bench.

“Honestly, I much prefer you losing like this with me and learning a lesson from it, instead of getting tricked by someone else and ending up with a sword through you.” Kiara said.

Kiara didn't give Leona a chance to use her true potential by taking away her weapons and surprising her with that flash of light. It's a pretty smart way to fight. So one by one, we fought against Kiara, and in each fight, she pointed out our mistakes. In just one day, we learned a lot.

The day passed quite quickly, and at sunset, Kiara ended the training. During the day, I would turn to see the balcony where the princess watched us train most of the day.

On the way back to the castle, I saw Gerald and Caroline in the gardens. There's still something I need to talk to Gerald about. I separated from my friends and went to the gardens to meet them.

"Darx, nice to see you! How was the training?" Caroline said upon seeing me.

"Good..."

Gerald interrupted, annoyed. "What do you want?"

"Don't be rude! You still haven't thank Darx for helping you clean your name." Caroline said.

"I didn't ask him to do anything. And in the first place, I didn't do anything, so I don't have to thank him for helping me for something I didn't do."

Caroline put her hands on her hips, looking like when a mother is upset and scolding her child—seeing that, Gerald looked nervous. Caroline has him well tamed from what I see.

"Okay, Okay! I just have to thank him." Geral turned to look at me in disgust and said, "Be grateful that a noble like me shows his appreciation." Then in a low voice, he just mumbles, "Thanks..."

It doesn't feel like a thanks to me. Anyway, it's not like I did it for him. I want to ask him about the blow he had, but he most likely will refuse to tell me anything. The best thing will be to try to talk to him alone and when he refuses, try to **** him with what I know.

"Caroline, could you let me talk to Gerald for a moment alone?" I said.

"Of course! I'll be waiting in the dining room." Caroline reply.

"W-Wait ..." Gerald said, trying to stop her.

When we were alone, just as I expected, grumpy and with arms crossed, Gerald asked me, "What the fuck do you want?"

"The night of the ****, I saw you hurt. What happened? Harold told me you didn't want to talk much, but I know you know more than you said."

"What? Why would I say anything to you? Get out of here before I get mad."

"If you don't tell me, maybe Caroline will know. Who knows, maybe I'll tell her other things too." I said, pretending that I was heading to the dining room

"W-Wait, it's dirty to **** me like that." Gerald said, nervous, "I wasn't with Darren; I was with her."

"Her?"

"Y-You know..., the girl you saw me with, in the library."

"Oh, your teammate's girlfriend!" I said.

"Tss, yeah, that one!" Gerald replied, annoyed, "I met her as I wanted to end our relationship. I don't want Caroline to find out about her and affect our engagement."

For some reason, I want to punch him in the face.

"And what happened then?" I asked.

"She got upset when I broke up with her, and she slapped me. That's why my lip was swollen. I didn't meet Darren or anything like that anymore. You can confirm it with her just don't tell anyone."

"You had it well deserved!"

"I know... I was a dick, but she was the one who started it all. I swear. Now I want to get along with Caroline, so I don't want any more of those problems. Keep your mouth shut, and I'll pay you."

"I already told you that I don't want your money." I reply.

"Then what do you want?"

Something I want? I don't need anything from him. Although maybe there is something he can help me with.

"Your dad is someone important, right!? I have noticed that for that reason, many respect you in this place. Can you do something to quell the rumors about Syvis?"

"My father is Marquis Levine! Of course, they respect me. With the snap of my fingers, I can have half a castle silence. But are you sure that's what you want? You really want to sleep with that Dark Elf."

"Shut up! It's not that. Just do what I asked of you, and I'll keep my mouth shut."

"Giving orders to a nobleman... You really don't know your place. We nobles always keep our word, so you better keep yours." Gerald said before leaving.

Gerald is more than being a dick, I think he's just dumb. Maybe both. Usually, I would feel bad for extorting someone, but for some reason, I don't feel that with Gerald. With that said, I headed to the dining room and joined my teammates.

"What do you think of Kiara? It's pretty cool what she does with the shadows." Ryul said.

"It's true! Even though she is a lower rank than us, no one would think so." Shalia replied.

"Dark Dragons are characterized by having the most outstanding adventurers." Leona added, "Many famous adventurers are from there."

"Your parents were members of the Dark Dragons, right, Darx!?" Ryul said, "They must have been amazing."

Most likely, Kiara wasn't around when my parents were members, but I wonder if she knew anything about them. Maybe I should ask her the next time I see her. Now that I remember, my mother told me about her friend Helena who is still a member of Dark Dragons. She told me to go to her if I ever needed help. Maybe I should go visit her one of these days.

As we finished our meal, my teammates returned to their rooms to rest while I headed to the library, searching for Syvis. Seeing again that she was not there, I decided to go to the greenhouse to see if I could talk to her. The greenhouse lights were off, and there appears to be no one. Or maybe she ignored the knock on the door. When I thought that I would not be able to contact her again, I heard her voice behind me.

"What are you doing here?" Syvis asked.

I was surprised as I did not expect that I would find her this way. "I-I was looking for you, there is something I wanted to talk to you about."

"There is nothing to talk about. Go back to your room." Syvis said, walking towards the greenhouse door.

"It won't take long besides, I have a message from the princess."

Syvis stopped when she heard me mention the princess. "Did you talk to her? That fool. I told her to be discreet." After thinking about it for a moment, Syvis said, "Come in."

We walk through the greenhouse until we reach the back, which is where she lives. Not much has happened, but I feel like I haven't been here in a long time.

"Wait a minute." Syvis said as she entered one of the rooms, "Make some tea while I return."

"Sure." I reply.

While preparing the tea, I noticed that the room was messier than usual. It seems like Syvis has been working a lot as there are potion bottles and ingredients everywhere. I put the cups on the table and tried to clean up a bit while Syvis returned. While cleaning, I saw a small closet with the door half-open. Out of curiosity, I opened it a little more to see what was inside. Inside were several bottles with an orange liquid. I've seen Syvis drink that liquid several times. The first being in the library when she discovered Gerald doing things with the girl of his team. I wonder what that liquid is?

"What are you doing?" Syvis said, surprising me.

"N-Nothing. I was just cleaning up a bit."

"I see... so what did you have to tell me?" Syvis asked.

Syvis changed her clothes, now she is wearing slightly more comfortable clothes which are still revealing. She sat in front of the table to drink the tea that I had prepared, so I did the same. I feel like I had many things to say to her, but now that I'm in front of her, I can't remember any, so I decided to start with what the princess told me.

"I see, at the moment it is not a good idea for us to meet. I thought she would understand without having to say anything, but it seems that I will have to send her a message." Syvis said. "The same goes for you. You better stop getting involved in this situation. The best thing is that you stay away from me."

"I'm not afraid. Besides, is it not more dangerous if you stay away from others!? After what happened to Darren, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be alone."

"Who do you think you're talking to? You don't need to worry about me."

"But I do... a lot."

"W-What" Syvis answered, surprised.

Syvis looks surprised by my words. I said it... there is no going back.

"I-I actually..."

What I was about to say was interrupted by a strange noise that we heard outside the greenhouse. Both Syvis and I got up from the chair at the same time. It was not a normal sound. It was as if someone was scraping the walls.

"What is that?' I asked.

"Wait here." Syvis said, taking the book she uses as a weapon and walking to the entrance.

I walked behind her, and when Syvis opened the door, an arrow that Syvis barely managed to dodge fell near my foot. Syvis ran out, and I hurried too. Once outside the greenhouse, we could see someone's shadow on one of the castle's terraces.

"Bastard." Syvis said, mad.

Syvis stretched out her hand with the book in her palm. The book shines, creating three species of spheres in front that rotate quickly and which began to take the form of three creatures.

"What is that?" I asked.

"Go!" Syvis commands, pointing to the shadow.

Two of the creatures, the ones that appear to be made of fire and water, elevate towards the terrace, while the one that seems to be made of stone stayed close to us. The shadow turned around and disappeared onto the terrace as the two creatures followed him. Moments later, an explosion was heard, and a red light appeared on the terrace.

Moments later, the castle guards began to mobilize. One of them approached us and asked if we knew what was going on. Syvis explained to him, and the guard that asked us sent more guards to the terrace.

"What's going on? Did those creatures attack the person responsible?" I asked.

Syvis ignored me and walked to the back of the greenhouse, where we heard the noise. At the end of the greenhouse where Syvis lives, 'Last Warning' was written on the wood.

Who could have written that? I turned once more to the terrace, looking for answers that I know I would not find.

Syvis remained solemn all this time, and after staring at the wall for some time, she spoke, "Darx, it's better if you wait inside."

"I'll stay with you." I said firmly.

Syvis smiled and just said, "Okay."

Sometime later, the creatures that Syvis summoned returned. Also, the guard returned, informing us that they didn't find anything but that they would maintain more security during the night.

Syvis and I once again returned to her living room.

"What was that? Has it happened to you before?" I asked.

Syvis confirmed with her head. "After Darren's ****, I received a note saying that anyone close to me would be killed as well as anyone who tried to support the alliance with the Dark Elves. Besides that, I should leave Riledo as soon as possible."

"That bastard. I've been giving Harold some important information, and I'm sure we'll find the one responsible soon." I said.

"You have to stop getting involved. Whoever attacked me tonight has been watching me and knew you were here, and that's why it was a threat directed at me, saying that he knows who I meet. You have to be careful here onwards."

"I'm not afraid."

"Although you are not afraid, I think that person must be quite strong." Syvis continued, "Tell me how much have you improved since we last met?"

I explained to her about the new skills I have developed.

"So a skill upgrade in such a short time. It really is something not seen before." Syvis said, "Now that you are a D-Rank, you should also be able to learn one more skill. Have you thought about that?"

Syvis is right. Now that I am a higher rank, I should be able to use one more skill. But how do I get it?

"I had not thought of it. It's possible, but I don't know how to do it."

"Tell me, how did you get your first skill? Did you do or think something special at that time?"

"When I was fighting Leona, I saw an opportunity to attack, and I remembered a skill that I saw a guard use while training and how I wish I could use it at that moment. Just that, and suddenly I was able to use it."

"In this case, try to do the same." Syvis commented.

If I really could learn a new skill, what should it be...

"What you did before... Do you think I could do it too?" I aske3d.

Syvis looked surprised. "You mean summon?" She then put her hand on his chin and thought for a while, "We could try."

"Really?"

"At this point, it is no longer useful to stay away. The best thing will be for you to be as strong as possible. Tomorrow after training, meet me, and we'll try." She replies.

"Excellent!!"

"For now, go back to your room, and I'll explain more tomorrow."

"Okay."

I got up from the chair, and after saying goodbye, I went to the door. Wait, there's still something I need to know. I stopped and turned around.

"Did you forget something? "Syvis asked, looking confused.

Being a little nervous, I asked her, "Regarding the marriage with the Dark Elf, S-Rank... w-what are you planning to do?"

"How do you know that?" Syvis asked, shocked.

"Dante told me."

"That fool doesn't know how to keep quiet." Syvis turned to see me, and maybe after she saw me nervous in anticipation of her response, she started laughing. "hahaha!"

I was confused by her sudden laugh.

"I don't plan to marry anyone. I left my land because I wanted to live my way, and that has not changed." Syvis replied after stopping laughing.

I couldn't help but smile. That said, I said goodbye once more and left the greenhouse.

"Be careful on the way." Syvis told me before I left.

I had a lot of energy, so I ran to my room wearing a big smile.